Preloading Insecurity in Your Electron

Explore a relatively unexplored class of vulnerabilities in Electron-based applications that can turn cross-site scripting (XSS) into remote code execution (RCE) in this Black Hat conference presentation. Delve into the anatomy of Electron apps, focusing on the BrowserWindow preload feature and its potential security implications. Examine the lifecycle, context isolation, and how Electron differs from traditional browsers. Follow along with a full chain exploit demonstration, including XSS and nodeIntegration bypasses. Learn about secure-by-default settings, Chromium upgrades, and survey results on Electron security. Investigate the preload attack surface, exploring case studies involving popular applications like Wire and Discord. Understand the risks associated with Node's Buffer, IPC mechanisms, and prototype pollution in the preload context. Gain insights into sandboxing, native capabilities, and developer responsibilities when building Electron apps. Discover techniques for making preload work with context isolation and walk away with valuable knowledge on securing Electron-based applications against these emerging threats.